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With a limited edition of just 499 cars, Ferrari’s technological tour de force was first introduced in 2013. Powered by a 950 bhp hybrid V12, the LaFerrari has a top speed of over 217 mph and can travel from 0-62 mph in less than 3 seconds.

London Concours 2018
Class : Hyperfast
Honourable Artillery Company
London
England – United Kingdom
June 2018

‘A Continental test on a (Mercedes-Benz 300) production model recently made available by the manufacturers shows that the car now challenges the best produced anywhere in the world today. There are still very few saloon cars which are capable of a mean speed of over 100mph, but to obtain this result on a five/six-seater saloon car with generous room for passengers and luggage, using an engine of three-litre capacity said to deliver only 114 bhp, is a notable achievement.’ – The Autocar magazine, May 1952.

Introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1951, the Mercedes-Benz 300 owed the design of its independently suspended oval-tube chassis to the 170S of 1949 and would later on provide the mechanical basis for the incomparable 300 SL sports car. Additional refinements appropriate for the company’s top-of-the-range luxury saloon included an improved steering mechanism and remote electrical control of the rear suspension ride height. Initially developing 115 bhp (DIN), the 3-litre, overhead-camshaft six-cylinder engine was increased in power for succeeding models, producing 125 bhp in the 300b built between March 1954 and August 1955. Other improvements included larger brakes (with servo-assistance from 1954) optional power steering and three-speed automatic transmission as standard on the 300d. Conservatively styled, the Mercedes-Benz 300 was one of very few contemporary vehicles capable of carrying six passengers in comfort at sustained high speeds. Priced at DM 24.700 in 1954, the 300b Cabriolet D was among the world’s most expensive – if not the most expensive – automobiles of its day.

‘To the characteristics of high performance, impressive appearance and fine detail finish which distinguished the big Mercedes models of pre-war days are added new virtues of silence, flexibility and lightness of control, while the latest rear suspension, a product of long experience on Grand Prix cars and touring cars, confers a degree of security at high speeds on rough and slippery surfaces which it would be very difficult indeed to equal,’ observed The Autocar.

A most worthy upholder of the Grosser Mercedes tradition of pre-war years, this rare Cabriolet D is one of only 181 of its type built on the 300/300b chassis during 1953 out of a total convertible production of 591. The car was purchased from Kansas, USA in 2001 and brought to Spain where it was professionally restored from the ground upwards – with no expense spared and using original Mercedes-Benz parts – by Moret Clásicos of Villalba, Madrid. The total cost was at least € 90.000.

There is a detailed estimate in the accompanying file, which also contains a US title, shipping documentation, Spanish registration papers, and photographs of the restoration. Following completion in 2004, the car was exhibited at Techno Classica Essen. Only some 1.500 kilometres have been covered since the rebuild and this beautiful Mercedes-Benz soft-top remains in commensurately excellent condition.

‘The Quattroporte is billed as the world’s fastest sedan. It is a highly refined automobile with a four-passenger cruising capability in excess of 100 mph, with enough attendant luxuries to compare favourably with non plus ultra of all luxury sedans, the Mercedes-Benz 600 and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.’ – Car & Driver.

Styled by Frua and introduced in 1963, the V8-powered Quattroporte was a landmark model for Maserati, being the Modena firm’s first four-door saloon and its first car of unitary construction. The Quattroporte was powered by a downsized – to 4,2 litres – version of the 5000GT’s four-cam V8, and beneath the skin featured independent front suspension and a De Dion rear axle, though the latter was replaced by a conventional elliptically sprung live axle in 1967. Car & Driver recorded a 0-100km/h time of 8.7 seconds and wound their Quattroporte up to 190 km/h, estimating that there was another 16 km/h still to come, all of which was some going for a fully-equipped four-seater weighing close to 2.000 kg.

The successor Quattroporte II deployed the V6 engine and front-wheel-drive package of the Citroën SM in a body by Bertone, but did not long survive Maserati’s take-over by Alessandro De Tomaso. Its successor – the Ital Design-styled Quattroporte III – arrived in 1978. Maserati V8 power was restored for this, the third of the line – the options being a 4,2 or a 4,9-litre unit – and the ‘III’ reverted to rear wheel drive using a lengthened Kyalami floor pan and all-independent suspension.

The Italian answer to Bentley – as its manufacturer’s publicity proudly claimed – the Maserati Quattroporte was one of the world’s fastest four-door saloons in its day. As Italy’s premier luxury car, the Quattroporte III was the choice of many wealthy Italian industrialists and celebrities, as well as the country’s president, Alessandro Pertini.

This automatic transmission model is one of only 1.821 Quattroporte IIIs built between 1978 and 1984, and was previously displayed at the Musée de l’Automobile in Reims, France. The car’s first owner was a well-known Bolognese entrepreneur and philanthropist, the second was a manufacturer in the fashion industry. The current (third) owner purchased the Maserati in Italy in April 2003 (at 84.000 kilometres), whereupon Candini, the Maserati specialist in Modena, carried out a full service. Finished in Blue Alfieri with Havana leather interior, this beautiful and collectible Maserati sports saloon is offered with Italian libretto, ASI paperwork, and its original Bologna registration plate from 1984.